listening to music in the car

I drive a low mileage (69,000) 2005  Lexus LS 430 sedan. It’s equipped with a Mark Levinson sound system that has, in addition to CD capability, a nice cassette tape player. I like to record really good LP’s on my Nakamitchi tape recorder and play them in the car. The home system is all ARC tube gear and I use a great cartridge.
As good as the car sounds, the home system still kills it. Good sound and music in the car is a must for me. Oh, and in an effort to get the noise down, in an already quiet car, I recently installed a new set of Michelin Premiere tires. It’s like driving on velvet, and the tires really lowered the "noise floor."

Frank

Jafant,

Do not doubt you are correct on wire harness and other tweaks.   It's sure a big deal in home system and probably the car has the minimum that will work.


Oprgonpapa,

Yep, tires are a big deal.  

I have factory tires which are Pirelli PZero, unfortunately not up to me when car was built.   I requested Michelin but was told the factory uses whatever is in stock at the moment.  

I could have gotten Michelin Latitude, Pirelli P-Zero or Continental Contact (21" Summer tires).

When the Pirelli wear out I am going to Michelin.  They are supposed to ride and perform better and are quieter.

albertporter ...

When I bought my Lexus, the seller had a set of Goodyear Eagles on the vehicle. The Michelin Premiers made a world of difference in both ride, handling and noise. Expensive tires for sure ... but for us audio-crazies a must. :>)

Frank

Well, guys, if Yokohama still produces tires model AVS dB you may guess why they named them that way. I bought them, many years ago, just for that reason. They were supposed to be quiet and quiet they were. It was a drastic change in silence from whatever my stock tires were at that time. Having said that, they were quiet for about, let's  say, 5000 miles and then they were the loudest thing you could have ever imagined. They somehow warped and ended up having ridges, valleys, hills, etc. on them. I was in love for a few thousand miles and afterwards had to admit that first passion does not always last so they went away. It turned out I was not the only one who noticed this increased noise so, maybe, they improved it afterwards.